Now that we’ve covered the basics you’re probably wondering how does that help me win? It doesn’t and that’s why we’re doing a 201 class as well.
Unlike most games everything and nothing hinges on your draft and how you start. There are many strategies on how to “win” your draft or even “dominate” it. It’s all BS. You don’t win your league at your draft. But you sure as shit can lose it though.
First pay attention to the scoring type. Is it PPR? If so WRs and RBs who catch passes are now worth more and should be drafted higher.
There are many different types and strategies and honestly it varies from person to person. The main ones you’ll hear are RB Heavy, Zero RB, VOR, and Tier Based.
RB Heavy - This is what Adam loves. Get as many RBs as you can early and often. The logic is getting a really top end running back is hard or they get hurt. They’re are arguably fewer of them since each NFL team starts one and every team in your league will probably have 4-8 RBs. They are scarce which makes them the most important asset.
Zero-RB - This is more popular with PPR leagues as the WRs are valued more. But the argument against RBs is they get hurt often. You can’t rely on them to be there year round. On average you get a higher return on investment in a top end WR than a RB. Evan can speak on this more as it’s his favorite
Value over Replacement (VOR) - This is where each player is weighed according to their fantasy value usually by points with the question in mind what would happen if they weren’t on my team. An example could be Christian McCaffery (CMC). We know that he gets more rushing attempts and passing attempts and therefore as a high value. Well the next best player last year would have been Aaron Jones. You would then compare each of their values and see where the outliers are. In this case CMC is very hard to replace even when compared to peers therefore he should be targeted in drafts. You would do this for everyone to find which players have the best Value Over a comparable replacement player.
Tier Based - This is where you group players of similar strengths or expected outcomes together. Then as the draft proceeds you can look and see I have 4 players left at let’s say tier 2 RBs but only 1 WR left at tier 1. You then can prioritize based on your needs whether it’s best to get that top WR or get another RB. This is regarded as the easiest to follow along live and has less overhead than VOR.
4th & Dirty Draft Advice:
Don’t lock yourself into using only one strategy. That’s how you lose at your draft. If you lock into your mind that you have to leave the first four rounds with 3 RBs you’ll miss out on all the great WRs or even a value at TE if they fall that far.
Pay attention to what the players around you have taken. If you see the person behind you hasn’t taken an RB yet. What do you think they are targeting next?
Spite picks are fun in the moment, but may come back to haunt you later.
In respect to your draft position see how close to the turn you are.
Example you’re at position 8 of 10. That means you have 4 picks between your next pick. You see both players behind you have taken a TE already and you’re struggling to pick between a WR and a TE. Take the WR because likely hood is they won’t take a TE but they will take the WR. Now you have a better WR and your TE.
Know your league. I know that Adam loves RB Heavy and Evan likes to do Zero WR. Use that to your advantage if they are near you in the draft. Knowing a player's tendencies allows you to pivot and frustrate your opponent.
DON'T FALL IN LOVE WITH YOUR TEAM. It’s proven that people value their players more than other peoples. If someone is under performing don’t be scared to cut them or trade them if you need help in another area. Aka the Sunk Cost Fallacy.
Late Round QB. We recommend waiting to draft a QB till the later rounds (5-12). There are 32 starting QBs in the NFL. If you only have 10 teams there’s 22 QBs that can be picked up after the draft. They’re not worth nearly as much as a RB or a WR in those early rounds.
DO NOT draft a DEF or Kicker early. You think the QBs aren’t worth as much?Tthese positions are worth even less and are harder to predict and manage. Be patient and wait till the end of the draft.
In Season:
As we said before you don’t win your league at the draft. It takes season long management to bring home glory.
Setting a Lineup:
As stated before this will largely depend on how big your roster is and how many players you must start at each position.
Beyond that, what do you do? If you may have only 1 TE or a QB you may be stuck starting them. But what about players you have multiple of, like your WRs and RBs? There are a number of factors to look at but the best one is the Match up. Is it good or bad? If it’s easy then they should have a better than average change of scoring. If it’s bad then it could be more difficult to score on the defense.
You can also apply the Start your Studs option. These are your heavy hitters. They’re more than likely to be able to beat a bad match up. But don’t get hung up on a name too much.
Some other things to consider to maximize your points is the Floor and Ceiling paradigm. If you’re projected to lose by a lot, maybe it’s better to start a player with a higher ceiling or chance to blow up, so you have a chance to win. Or conversely maybe you’re projecting to win big. Maybe it’s better to start a player with a solid floor of points or consistency.
Is Starting the Defense against one of your players in real life the best option? While one player scores your defense immediately loses. The converse can work as you could start opposing players your opponent is playing.
Can you Stack Players? The common example is starting the same QB and WR for a team. That way if they score together it’s double the points. But it can be a double edge sword if you say start the QB and RB from the same team and they both like to rush. Which they would cannibalize their point scoring potential.
Pay attention to what day and time your players and your opponents players, play. Definitely try to not start a Thursday player in your flex spot. It literally will make you inflexible. You want to be able to pivot out of a bad match up or an injury as much as possible.
If all else fails you better be Working that Waiver wire:
The waiver wire is the pool of players left over after the draft. Each week a player has the ability to add or drop players from this pool to their team. This is where your league is won. More often than not you will be wrong about the players you drafted and will need to make moves. From my own championship team in 2018, I had only 2 players from my draft make it the whole year.
There are two main ways to determine who has first rights to a player. You can do it based on worst to first ranking, called Waiver Priority or what we advocate for which is the silent Auction style. Each player gets a budget usually $100-200 fake dollars each year to bid on players.
Streaming. This is wear you pick up and drop players to play for just that week. This is usually done with QBs, DEF and K since they are the least important and a replacement can also be found. Make sure the match up is good and don’t cut bait too quickly because you may have found a diamond.
Trading can and should be encouraged to mix the league up and have fun. It always helps when you know the person, it’s easier to get a deal done and you know their tenancies. Also don’t be a dick. Approach the situation as a win-win opportunity. You want to help their team as much as they can help yours. If they need a WR and you need a RB try to offer a good WR. I also advocate for the 2 for 1 approach. I know this breaks the win-win model because generally the person getting the 1 player wins but you can always get great value in return if done correctly.
Finally make sure you’re having FUN! This is a game at the end of the day. If you’re stressing out about decisions or you’re not sure what to do just go and have fun.